This weekend, a handful of skiing’s top freestyle athletes made their way to Atlanta, Georgia, for one of the most unique Big Air competitions to hit the FIS World Cup circuit. After a massive build that placed a multi-story jump in the middle of the Atlanta Braves’ baseball field at Sun Trust Park, athletes took their chances throwing new tricks on one of the most monstrous jumps they’ll hit all season. When it was all said and done, American Alex Hall and Swiss Mathilde Gremaud topped the charts with impressive final runs.
Crashing out of the finals of the World Cup event in Beijing, China, Gremaud performed with a clear mind and landed herself in the top spot, stomping an insane left double cork 1260 safety on her first hit and right side rodeo 900 lead tail on her final run.
“I wasn’t doing well in Beijing,” said Gremaud after her win, “I’m happy I skipped it so I could give my all today. It’s great to be out here pushing limits. It makes me so happy. It’s so fun.”
The men’s competition saw a truly staggering performance by each of the athletes, with all five of the top-5 finishers landing two tricks that earned scores of 90 points or higher—unprecedented for a World Cup event with a jump of this stature.
With the high level of competition, it was only fitting that Hall and his unique style walked away with the win on home turf. Landing a left double 1620 Buick—that’s a seatbelt grab combined with a cuban, for those scoring at home—before putting down the switch left double 1800 Buick that only he can do to clock the highest-scoring trick of the day with a 97.00 for his final jump.
“Maybe one of the biggest wins of my career, yeah,” a clearly stoked Hall said from the finish area, “Right before I dropped in the crowd was going crazy. That was sick. I didn’t feel any pressure because everyone killed it so hard and I was already hyped on my jumps from before. It was like, wherever I end up, I’m stoked. But it worked out for me. That was insane.”
After the holidays and the New Year, the men and women of FIS Freeski will be back in action for the first slopestyle competition of the 2020 season at Font Romeu, France, where competition will go down from January 9-11, 2020.
Alex Hall Winning Run
Mathilde Gremaud Winning Run
Photo Gallery
Images courtesy of U.S. Ski & Snowboard
